Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and San Pablo

For one person, living is cheaper in San Pablo: $606 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in San Pablo
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San Pablo Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

San Pablo

🇵🇭 Philippines

$606

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in San Pablo

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Mexico City and in San Pablo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $606 in San Pablo.

Mexico City $1,674
San Pablo $606

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $914 in San Pablo.

Mexico City $2,606
San Pablo $914

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $1,222 in San Pablo.

Mexico City $3,537
San Pablo $1,222

Living in Mexico City is roughly 176% more expensive than in San Pablo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, San Pablo is 55% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$199

$3.14 ₱199

237.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$978

$23.81 ₱1,512

118.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$202

$2.84 ₱180

277.82%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$71.4

$1.70 ₱108

123.53%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 MX$30.35

$0.38 ₱23.89

323.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.81

$0.14 ₱8.68

764.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.8

$1.09 ₱69.2

191.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$102

$1.95 ₱124

178.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$1.76 ₱112

-2.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.8

$0.80 ₱50.8

271.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$36.24

$0.91 ₱58.0

112.09%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$52.2

$1.90 ₱121

45.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$220

$4.80 ₱305

143.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$178

$3.20 ₱203

196.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$289

$7.38 ₱469

108.27%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$58.4

$2.47 ₱157

25.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.90

$1.38 ₱87.9

42.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$37.30

$1.62 ₱103

22.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.95

$0.86 ₱54.5

172.09%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.08

$1.40 ₱89.2

44.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.34

$1.32 ₱83.6

37.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$29.06

$0.61 ₱38.79

152.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.70

$0.33 ₱20.87

296.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$101

$2.68 ₱170

99.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$305

$6.21 ₱394

160.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.87

$1.21 ₱76.8

61.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.9

$2.47 ₱157

76.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.74

$0.25 ₱15.98

20.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$367

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$36.08

$1.04 ₱66.1

84.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.90

$0.20 ₱12.67

135.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$102

$1.84 ₱117

194.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.92

$1.26 ₱79.9

17.46%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$21.4K MX$402.2K

$21.5K ₱1.4M

-0.79%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$23.8K MX$447.1K

$19.0K ₱1.2M

24.74%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$62.0 MX$1,167

$95.1 ₱6,036

-34.80%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$28.47 MX$536

$11.78 ₱748

141.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$642

$30.85 ₱1,958

10.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,099

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$461

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$124

$4.82 ₱306

36.72%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$434 MX$8,172

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$264.1K

$13.6K ₱864.7K

3.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,286

$49.04 ₱3,113

39.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,031

$36.87 ₱2,341

48.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,086

$70.9 ₱4,501

56.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,183

$79.2 ₱5,029

46.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$22.2K

$143 ₱9,082

724.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.5K

$126 ₱8,018

510.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$48.4K

$207 ₱13.1K

1142.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.7K

$192 ₱12.2K

640.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$67.5K

$958 ₱60.8K

274.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.8K

$780 ₱49.5K

164.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.9K

$283 ₱18.0K

254.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

62.14%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for San Pablo: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

San Pablo

$126 20.9% 83.6% $645

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

San Pablo

$157 26% 51.3% $166

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

San Pablo

$65 10.8% 67.4% $135

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

San Pablo

$106 17.5% 32.6% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

San Pablo

$138 22.7% 10.5% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

San Pablo

$9.6 * 1.6% 86.5% $62

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

San Pablo

$3.1 * 0.5% 87.8% $22

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,179 in Mexico City and $143 in San Pablo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 3.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $24 in San Pablo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $157 per month, with San Pablo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇭 San Pablo

🕒 Local time

23:10 11:10 PM

13:10 1:10 PM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

266,068

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.75 EUR

100 PHP = 1.58 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.05 MXN (100 MXN = 4.75 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 63.49 PHP (100 PHP = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 71 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City San Pablo 14,230 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
San Pablo

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Mexico City vs San Pablo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $606 in San Pablo, so San Pablo is about 64% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 3.5 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $143 in San Pablo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in San Pablo – a meal for two runs $24 versus $52 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,674 per month in Mexico City versus $606 in San Pablo – San Pablo is about 64% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $606 in San Pablo versus $1,674 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in San Pablo but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes San Pablo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – San Pablo wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.